Why Buy Organic

Protect Future GenerationsThe average child receives 4-5 times more exposure than an adult to at least eight widely used cancer-causing pesticides in food. Pesticide residue standards are based on an average adult’s diet, and do not take into account that children receive greater exposure to pesticides due to their much greater consumption of produce than adults. (the average preschool child consumes six times as much fruit as the average adult.) In addition, existing standards may not reflect a child’s increased vulnerability to toxic chemicals. In addition to cancer, pesticides are linked to birth defects, nerve damage and genetic mutation.

Protect Water QualityWater makes up two thirds of our body mass and covers three fourths of the planet. In spite of the importance of water, the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides is quickly polluting our water supply. In addition, irrigating large tracts of land is increasing soil salinity resulting in the decommissioning of farm land worldwide, crop production is limited by the effects of salinity on about half of the irrigated land area.

Save EnergyModern farming uses more petroleum than any other single industry. More energy is now used to produce synthetic fertilizers than to till, cultivate and harvest all the crops in the United States. Most chemical fertilizers come from natural gas. Once in the soil, natural gas fertilizers off-gas nitrous oxide which is about two hundred times more potent than carbon dioxide. Most food travels by truck and the average distance your food travels is 1500 miles. Trucks use fossil fuels and ride over pavement and cement that give off about a ton of global warming gases for every yard put down.

Help Small FarmersMost organic farms are independently owned and operated. By supporting a local farmer, you are helping to support your community’s economy and sustainability. Local farmers hire people in their community and give back to the community. Plus you can visit a local farm and see how the food you buy is grown.

Support a True EconomyAlthough organic food seems to be more expensive than conventionally grown food, conventional foods do not reflect the hidden costs borne by taxpayers, including federal farm subsidies. In California water subsidies average out at $150,000 per farm per year. A $1 bunch of beets contains $6 worth of water subsidies. Other hidden costs include pesticide regulation and testing, hazardous waste disposal, health costs, and environmental damage.(Weather-related losses were four times as high in the 1990s as they were in the 1980s.)

Promote Bio-DiversityHuge tracts of land are used in mono-cropping which facilitate the use of big machinery for cultivating, spraying and harvesting. Fewer and fewer varieties are being grown resulting in the reduction of the gene pool. In the US and Canada, two-thirds of the nearly 5000 non-hybrid vegetable varieties that were offered in 1984 were no longer available for sale by 1994. Organic farmers promote the use of open-pollinated seeds which ensures the maintenance of older varieties and a greater genetic base. Older varieties provide essential raw material for plant breeding, which will become more important in the future as plants are faced with greater and greater challenges to their survival.